Grosse Pointe Park nurse sentenced for fentanyl tampering

FOX 2 - A registered nurse in Grosse Pointe Park registered nurse, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for tampering with  fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.

The backstory:

Travis Eskridge pleaded guilty to tampering with vials containing fentanyl - a powerful narcotic pain reliever - which was intended to be given to patients in the hospital’s emergency room.

Eskridge, 54, was working as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Ascension St. John Hospital until August of 2022.

Investigators said that Eskridge removed fentanyl from the vials, replaced fentanyl with another liquid, and returned the tampered vials to the locked drug storage system.

Eskridge did this with reckless disregard for the risk to patients that resulted, prosecutors said.

He admitted to stealing fentanyl vials for his personal drug use, as part of a pattern from May of 2022 until August of 2022.  

Eskridge was immediately removed from his position at Ascension St. John Hospital in August of 2022 when the hospital discovered the tampering and thefts.    

"When nurse Eskridge placed tampered vials back into the hospital’s medical supply, he exposed patients in desperate need of pain relief to continued suffering," said US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon. "This is a reprehensible crime.  No medical professional should torture a patient.  I credit the hospital and the FDA investigators for their work in exposing this crime."

The case was investigated by special agents of the Food and Drug Administration.

"Emergency room patients trust they will be administered the pain relief drugs that the doctor ordered," said Special Agent in Ronne Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. "We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who violate their position of trust and jeopardize patients’ health and well-being by tampering with their pain medications."